Press Release – IMHA Delhi Convening (16 Sep 2026)

On Wednesday, 16 September 2026, the India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA) convened its third regional meeting in New Delhi, aligning with the World Health Organization’s 2026 theme “Lived experiences heard: real voices, real change”. The gathering focused on “experience‑based knowledge”, defined as the insights generated not only by individual lived experience but also by community and grassroots organisations operating within specific cultural contexts.

The event brought together 86 member organisations from 12 states, representing nearly one‑third of the alliance’s pan‑India membership. It followed earlier regional meets in Guwahati and Mumbai and is part of the year‑round “Connecting India for Mental Health” series, which unites more than 370 alliance organisations across over 30 states and Union Territories to foster connections, share knowledge, and strengthen collaboration within India’s mental‑health ecosystem.

Co‑founder Neha Kirpal emphasized that India’s diversity necessitates a decentralised, community‑driven approach to mental health care, arguing that such a model can bridge fragmentation, improve access, and ensure systems are informed by community realities for lasting impact.

Representatives from a range of grassroots organisations were present, including Amar Trishala Sewa Aashram (Bihar), Dalit Vikas Abhiyan Samiti (Bihar), Gramin Adiwasi Samaj Vikas Sansthan (Madhya Pradesh), Jago Foundation (Jharkhand), Mithila Kala Vikas Samiti (Bihar), Sahyadri Foundation (Maharashtra), SATRA (Assam), Shikshit Rojgar Kendra Prabandhak Samiti (Rajasthan), Stand for Kashmiri Youth Trust (Jammu & Kashmir), and Swanthana Seva Samithi (Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Bihar).

Dr Kavita Arora, a founding cohort member of IMHA and child‑adolescent psychiatrist, noted that the prevailing expert‑driven biomedical model focused on tertiary care cannot alone address India’s scale and complexity of mental‑health needs. She advocated for a preventive, community‑driven approach that leverages undiscovered strengths from caregivers and persons with mental illness, integrating these lived‑experience insights with clinical knowledge.

To operationalise this vision, IMHA announced plans for an open‑access knowledge‑exchange hub designed to make community‑based learnings widely available to mental‑health professionals, community organisations, and policy makers.

About IMHA

The India Mental Health Alliance is a Section 8 not‑for‑profit entity launched in late 2023 through a partnership between Vasvi, Ashish Bharat Ram, Amaha Health, and Children First. It functions as a cross‑sectoral platform that convenes stakeholders, builds capacity, and catalyses collaboration at scale. Through multi‑channel knowledge sharing and learning initiatives, IMHA supports community organisations, healthcare and educational institutions, and individual mental‑health practitioners. Its stated objectives are to mainstream mental health as a national development priority, improve care quality, embed Lived Experience Expertise (LEE) in care design, champion social justice, and mobilise long‑term, unrestricted philanthropic capital for systemic, scalable solutions across India.

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